Many electronic systems comprise a backplane to which one or more electronic devices (e.g., circuit boards, blade devices, etc.) mate. The backplane typically is a circuit board comprising conductive traces that interconnect various electrical connectors mounted on the board. An electrical device includes an electrical connector that mates to a corresponding backplane connector when the electrical device is installed in the system.
While a backplane generally is a suitable mechanism for interconnecting the various devices in the system, for some systems the vast number of electrical interconnections between the various components provided on the installed devices can make the backplane exceedingly complex and uneconomical to produce.